Richmond among top 10 best metro areas for millennials: new study
VENN
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Richmond is among the top 10 metropolitan areas in the U.S. for millennials in 2025, according to a new study.
CommercialCafe looked at 103 of America's metropolitan areas -- each with at least half a million residents -- and analyzed them across various metrics, including each area's millennial population and its growth, cost of living, average income among millennials, unemployment rate and more. The metropolitan areas were then given a score out of 100 based on those metrics.
The first-place metro area for millennials is Austin, Texas, scoring just under 76. Runner-ups were San Jose, California and Raleigh, North Carolina with scores of 69.56 and 68.77, respectively.
Richmond came in seventh with a score of 64.52. This was driven in part by a 10.9% jump in millennial population over the past 5 years, according to CommercialCafe, with that growth particularly noticeable in the city's Scott's Addition neighborhood.
The River City also offers a diverse job market, has a cost of living that's 2% under the national average and millennial households are making $117,300 a year on average.
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Additionally, Richmond's 2.7% unemployment rate ties for fourth-lowest in the study, per CommercialCafe.
"Overall, Richmond offers a good mix of stability and affordability — and it’s clearly gaining ground," CommercialCafe said.
Here's the full top-ten list of metro areas for millennials:
- Austin, Texas - 75.84
- San Jose, California - 69.56
- Raleigh, North Carolina - 68.77
- Huntsville, Alabama - 67.45
- Northwest Arkansas - 65.59
- Seattle, Washington - 65.13
- Richmond, Virginia - 64.52
- Salt Lake City, Utah - 63.49
- Provo, Utah - 62.59
- Nashville, Tennessee - 62.56
The other Virginia metro area on this list, Virginia Beach, came in at No. 55 with a score of 51.92. Its population of millennials has reportedly dropped by about 1% over the last five years.
